Pablo Tomek was born in 1988 in Paris.
Originating in graffiti, which he practicesexperimentally and illegally with his group PAL the French artist is surrounded in a aura of mystery. His first experiences with art took place outside of art academies, but in the street as a self-taught graffiti artist.
In the studio, the artist has taken his practice further: he now examines the bonds between the heritage of graffiti and abstract expressionistic painting, while also misappropriating the techniques and aesthetics of manual work with a thought provoking and poignant practice which includes painting, murals, experimental publications and installations.
Out of the street and its hazards, Pablo Tomek reenacts this mechanism of creative destruc- tion in his workshop. By smearing paint onto the canvas, only to come back and later erase it, he reenacts this process, in turn pushing him- self to become its master.
But one aspect always escapes they who play with living materials. The drying time involved determines what will or will not remain on the canvas, shapes and composition depend on those critical minutes that comprise the malleable lifetime of paint, and here as in the street, style is the response created under pressure by the artist.
Pablo Tomek has already exhibited internationally, in 2021 he had a solo show at the famous Palais de Tokyo in Paris (FR). He his also known for his many collaborations with Off- White and Virgil Abloh (clothing design and set design). The same year he had been remarked for designing the walls of the new Samaritaine in Paris.
He is represented in Germany by the gallery Ruttkowski;68.
COLLECTIONS
Private collection, Brussels (BE)
MIMA Museum, Brussels (BE)
Private collection, Koln (DE)
Private collection, Berlin (DE)
Collection Société Générale Bank, Paris (FR)
Private collection, Seoul (KR)
Gothenburg Museum of Art, Goteborg, (SE)
Private collection, Seattle (US)
Private collection, New York (US)